


Bird on a Wire

by scyler23



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Jedi Ahsoka Tano, M/M, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, The Force
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29704296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scyler23/pseuds/scyler23
Summary: In which Din picks up a strange passenger he just can't seem to get rid of... nor does he really want to...
Relationships: Din Djarin/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fic the the Mandalorian. I've been sitting on this for a while and finally drummed up the guts to post it. Hope you like it and please don't ask where the name came from. I have no idea nor do I know how it will play into the story. It just sounded good. Also I will come up with a better summary later...

"You sure look like you have your hands full with that one" 

The voice actually startled the Mandalorian, his silver helmet snapping up to look over at the hooded figure that had seemingly appeared by his side. Snatching up the child, despite its protest, he turned to the figure. The fact that he had missed this person walking up to him spoke of something dangerous. To sneak up on a Madalorian, even one that is mildly distracted is never a good sign. The hooded figure just raised their hands slowly, telegraphing every move. 

"What do you want?" Din asked slowly, still on alert, one hand holding the child to his chest and the other resting on the blaster at his hip. 

"Not a thing," the other said and Din could hear the smile in the voice. 

Din just stared at the person, aware that they could not see him glaring but knowing that he was intimidating all the same. After a moment the person shifted slightly, clearly uncomfortable, but made no move to try and attack. Din relaxed slightly but did not drop his guard. There was always the chance that this person was just waiting for him to get comfortable enough to relax so they could grab the kid. 

The kid, on the other hand, had a different idea. They took one look at the hooded figure and let out the happiest squeal Din had ever heard. Tiny clawed hands reached out to the stranger without even a second of hesitation. He knew the kid had its own sense of determining someone's character but he had never seen the child react like that with anyone, not even those he would call his friends. Thankfully they didn't try to squirm out of his hold, recognizing that while they seemed willing to trust the stranger their caretaker did not. A soft laugh drew the Mandalaorian's attention back to the figure before them. 

"Something funny?" he asked curtly, not really feeling like playing nice. 

The figure shook their head slowly before speaking, a smile evident in their voice, "No. It is just adorable how the little one reads you despite its own wants and desires." 

Din just stared at the figure before shifting out of his ready stance slowly. it would be bad luck for him to get distracted just because the kid seemed to like this stranger. As it was the kid was starting to wiggle like a womp rat, which was making it hard to hold on to the kind. bending down slightly Din knew he had maybe thirty seconds before the kind managed to wriggle loose. No sooner had he gotten close enough to the ground that the kid wouldn't hurt himself the the little green being dropped out of his hands. Din wanted nothing more than to scoop them back up as the waddled over toward the strange figure.

The other crouched down as the child got closer. Din found his breath catching when the child stumbled to a stop before them, worried beyond reason that somehow this stranger was going to snatch the kid away from him. Instead, shockingly, only held out a hand to the child. Large green ears perked at the sight of shockingly pale skin only to be distracted quickly when they rolled something between their fingers. Trilling happily the child took the offered item. Stepping back slowly the figure carefully folded their arms across their chest. With that one move Din could see that they were apparently unarmed and also seemed to be male. The move also made the hod slide back a bit so he could now see that the other was smiling at the kid. 

Stepping forward he quickly scooped up the kid, "Alright, you've seen him and given him something. Now move along."

"Actually, there is something more I want," the man said softly as he shifted to prop one hand on his hip. 

"What else could you want?" Din all but snapped, dimly aware of how the kid was looking at him with its large dark eyes. 

The man held up his hands in a placating gesture, "What I want is passage off this planet. Things have gotten more than a little tense for me here and I would rather not stay any longer than necessary."

Din just looked at him, trying to figure out if he was lying or not. As it was he was getting an odd feeling from the man. Almost like something in his voice was trying to sway him. A sharp chirp from the child had the feeling fading as he gave himself a sharp shake. Looking back at the figure he could tell that the man was looking at the child even without being able to see his face. There was clear surprise in the line of his body, as though he had not been expecting the child to act as he did. 

"Why not hire a charter ship?" Din asked more than a little unsettled, shifting his grip on the child as he did. 

The man sighed before shifting the hood a little farther back on his head, showing off his shockingly pale face, "People don't really want to talk to me much considering my background. Wearing my hood makes people more than a little uncomfortable." 

Something tugged at Din's mind, a faint thread of familiarity in those pale features. There was something about the man that poked at some long buried memories. Giving himself an internal shake the Mandalorian gave the man another once over. He was still apparently unarmed, which was beyond a little stupid in the Outer Rim, but his stance was confident enough to deter most unsavory types. there should be no problem for him getting transport off the planet. He was about to tell him to try his luck elsewhere when the man pulled something out from behind his back. 

The bag he produced clinked in a very familiar way as he reached into it, "This is all I really have money wise now. I know I could definitely buy me passage on any ship but I balk at the thought of someone other than those who this truly belongs to with it." 

Carefully the man pulled two Beskar ingots from the bag, though from the size of the bag Din could tell that there was more than that. As the ingots came out so too did a slim chain. Din jolted slightly at the sight. Just from the color of the metal he could tell that it was made of pure Beskar. Jewelry was not a common thing to use Beskar for, save for the small handful of pieces that survived the Purge. Once the man noticed that the chain was there he was quick to put it back before holding out the Beskar. 

Holding out the Beskar the man swallowed thickly, "I fully intend to give you all of this Beskar, but this is down payment. As I said I just need to get off-world. From there I don't care where I end up."

Din watched the man for a few moments before taking the Beskar, "Fine, but stay away from the kid."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little better recieved than I was expecting. :D I am very happy t hat you guys seem to like this one. This was something I really enjoyed wroking on. I hope you like the chapter I have prepared for you today.

The man eventually introduced himself as Raven Nightingale. He had been taking jobs as a bounty hunter to allow him to get from planet to planet, but recently the Guild had started encroaching on his hunts. Since he was not part of the Guild he had no easy way of stopping them, he just had to let them take over and hope that they would feel inclined to give him a cut. Raven's last job had gotten him stranded on this planet when the hunter he had been assisting had decided to cut and run after getting shot. 

Din felt a brief shot of empathy for the man but was quick to brush it aside. Raven was still a stranger and a possible threat to him and the kid. Being worried over him would do no good. It was still more than a little odd that he refused to take off his cloak or even drop the hood. Though the Mandalorian knew better than to ask. Somethings were better left alone, he had a feeling that getting involved with that whole thing would blow up into a massive argument. 

“Where are we going?” 

The silence of the cockpit was broken by Raven’s soft voice. Din had almost forgotten that the other was even on the Crest. HE was so damn silent, more than capable of sitting around and doing nothing for hours on end. Turning slightly he could just barely see the outline of the man’s face under the hood from where he stood in the doorway to the cockpit. Shifting his weight a bit Din gestured with a shrug of one shoulder for the other to come in. While he didn’t want the other to touch the kid, he hadn’t said anything about being in the same room as them. 

Raven practically glided into the space, feet barely seeming to touch the metal grating.Sliding up beside the Mandalorian the other man just looked over the navi-computer to see where they were going. He let out a soft hum, but said nothing. Din was briefly reminded of the fact that the other had just been wanting to get off the planet he was on. It was a rather shitty little dirt ball, even among shitty little dirt balls. Finding something other than a desert planet in the Outer Rim was something of a miracle in most cases. This new planet was less of a dir ball and more of a giant rock though so there really wasn’t actually all that much difference. 

“Any reason you chose this planet?” Raven asked, just trying to fill the silence even though the question set the Madalorian on edge. 

He just fiddled with the controls for a moment more before finally speaking, “Its off the beaten path. Not a lot of people come out this way.” 

“Good place to hide and lay low for a bit. I can understand that,” Raven shrugged, cloak shifting with each move. “I heard about what happened on Navarro...” 

Din tensed up at the mention of the bounty hunter’s planet. If this man knew about it there was still a good chance that he would try something with the kid. True he had made no moves so far but there were still chances for him to move in. Chancing a look over at the other man Din found that Raven appeared to be looking out the view screen rather than at him. That surprised him a bit. He would have expected the man to be demanding an answer. 

“What about Nevarro?” Din asked even as he leaned forward to adjust something.

“Nothing. I just wanted to let you know I heard about what had happened,” Raven said, turning slightly to look at him. “ I think you did the right thing.”   
“What do you mean?” the warrior asked sharply, barely managing to keep his voice down. 

“Saving the kid. You did the right thing by saving him,” Raven elaborated with a slight wave of a frighteningly pale hand over where the child was sleeping. 

Din actually had to turn and look at the other when he said that, “If you heard what happened then you know that I was the reason he needed rescuing in the first place.” 

Raven nodded slowly before pushing away from the wall, “True, but you still went back for him. You may have been the reason he was there but you are also the reason he is not. And that is the part that matters the most here.” 

Din could only stare at his back as the man disappeared into the lower area of the Crest. For some reason it felt like some kind of weight was lifted off of his shoulders at Raven's words. Turning back to the console Din pondered the feeling. It was true that he still felt like scum for having traded the child for Beskar, despite going back for them in the end. The other members of the Covert had given him rasther disdainful looks when he returned with the Beskar and he couldn't help but think that they knew exactly how it was obtained. That thought alone had nearly made him ill. Children were precious to the Covert, something to be cared for and trained. Not handed over for admittedly precious metal. 

Now, after hearing Raven tell him he did the right thing, Din found a small measure of peace with the situation. Turning in the other direction he looked back over at the child. The little green ebing was fast asleep in its makeshift cib, its tiny clawed fingers wrapped around the little metal orb. Smiling faintly Din found himself just watching the child sleep for a bit. 

He wasn’t entirely sure just how long he sat there watching the child sleep but after a bit he did hear Raven coming back. Quickly shaking his head he turned back to the console, wondering what in the hell came over him. It wasn’t like him to get sentimental. Sure, he had been glad to hear that someone thought he’d done the right thing by going back for the kid.  but that was no reason to get sentimental and careless. He still didn't trust Raven as far as he could throw him. The plan was to get him to the next planet and then to ditch him. Trying to figure out his motives was a pointless effort.

"Should I be worried about something?" Raven asked as he padded back into the cockpit. 

Din barely spared him a glance before going back to the controls, "Worried? About what?"

"Worried about how hard you are glaring at the controls," Raven replied with a faint shrug and a smile in his voice. 

Din glared at the man, not really liking his tone at all. Raven just held up his hands in the universal 'I surrender' gesture before settling into the other seat in the cockpit. Shooting the man one last look Din fully turned his attention back to the hyperspace tunnel before them. Normally he would happily just let the system do its thing and take care of everything but with this rather unpredictable passenger of his he couldn't risk it. There was always a chance that Raven could screw with the conrtols just enough to royally fuck them over.

-1 hour later- 

Finally they made it around to their destination planet. Raven was the first of the Crest, seemingly happy just to be on a planet once more and out of the void. Din had noticed that the longer they traveled the jumpier the man got. It was almost like he had a thing against space. It was kind of a silly thing to not like in this age. Everything revolved around space travel. 

It wasn’t until the man vanished into a secluded area that the Madalorian realized that he wasn't space as a whole the man had a problem with; it was sharing such tight quarters with a total stranger while trying to keep their features hidden.

Din waited by the Crest’s ramp for the other to come back. Not because he wanted to make sure the other was alright, he still needed the other man to pay him. If he didn’t get paid for this then the whole trip was wasted. The kid thankfully stayed within his eyesight, as if knowing that he was not really alright with staying on this planet for very long. Folding his arms a cross his chest the Mandalorian just watched their surroundings. 

The spaceport on this planet, while not overly sophisticated, was stqarlingly open. It seemed as though it served as the local community space as well as the spaceport. That being said there were people... everywhere. Vendors were calling out and hawking their wares, some good and others obvious garbage, while there were food stalls dotted around the area. Shifting his weight the warrior noticed a few people eyeing him from off to the side. He made a small show of dropping a hand to his blaster. 

That seemed to be enough of a deterrent to them, because they bolted into the crowd a few moments later. Letting out a faint sigh the man looked down at the kid. Once again he was chasing something he really shouldn’t eat. Just as he was about to intervene Raven stepped back around the corner. The child let out a happy squeal and wobbled toward the hooded man. 

“Hello, youngling. I was not gone that long was I?” he asked, voice soft and indulgent. 

Din rolled his shoulder as the man interacted with the kid. Raven had taken Din’s warning about touching the kid to heart. Though they were on the same level the other man made no move to touch or pick up the child. He could tell that it was actually annoying the kid but made no comment. 

“Is this planet good enough?” Din asked sharply when the man made his way over, the kid trailing slightly behind him. 

Raven nodded slowly, “there does not appear to be anyone here who knows about me so that is in my favor.” 

“Great,” Din grunted, unfolding his arms and scooping up the kid. “Then this is where we part.” 

Raven nodded slowly, almost as if he was sad to see the other leaving, before pulling the bag with the Beskar out of where he stashed it, “As promised. The Beskar is yours.” 

Din reached for the bag with one hand only to stop after a moment, “ARe you sure you intend to part with all of it? I saw that Beskar necklace in there earlier.” 

“I... I would love to be able to keep it but you know just how rare Beskar is, let alone Beskar jewelry. I cannot keep it, not if I wish to maintain what I have now,” Raven murmured holding the bag out a little farther. 

There was a sadness evident in his voice that actually had Din hesitating for a moment longer before taking the bag. Tucking it into his own belt he turned back to the Crest. This upset the kid who looked over his shoulder at Raven as the other continued standing there. Letting out an quizzical chirp the kid reached back for the hooded man. Raven raised a hand in a slight wave at the child before stepping back a bit. That prompted more of a reaction from the green being, who finally registered that Raven was not coming with them. 

“Be safe, youngling. Take care of each other, yes?” Raven said, a forced laugh in his tone. “We will meet again. This I am certain of.” 

The kid let out a whine even as the ramp raised into position. Tiny hands pounded against Din’s pauldron as the kid let out an angry squeak. Sighing he let the child down only for him to point at the door. Shaking his head Din started walking toward the cockpit only to be jerked back sharply and lifted off his feet. 

“Womp Rat! Put me down! Now!” he growled trying in vain to turn himself so that he could actively glare at the kid. 

The kid chirped angrily at him again and he found himself being turned slightly. Now that he was looking at the kid he could tell that they were mad, really mad. He didn’t want Raven to stay here... Why? Din stopped trying to get away and thankfully the kid knew that he was trying to figure out what was going on. Unfortunately instead of setting him on his feet the kid kind of dropped him. Din landed in a heap with a crashing sound, thankful that he hadn’t fallen that far. It would have hurt so much more if the kid had been holding him up by the ceiling and then dropped him. 

“Alright ad’ika,” he rumbled, sitting up and pulling the kid in close. “There is something not quite right with this planet. Is that what you’re trying to say here?”

The Kid gave him just enough of a dark look that he realized it was actually glaring at him. repeating the question with a different wording still earned him a dark look but this one wasn't quite so venomous as the last. Letting out a heavy sigh Din grabbed the sling he favored keeping the kid in when in not so good situations. This time there was no protest for the little  being as he settled them in it, tucked firmly against his left side.

Lowering the ramp he looked down at the kid and mumbled in Mado'a, "I really hope you're wrong about this, kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we finally get his name! Also bad things are happening here... Stay tuned for the nxt instalment of Bird on a Wire! Remember comments and kudos are the heart and soul of a writer!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed that. Stay tuned for the next installment of Bird on a Wire! Remember comments and kudos are the soul of a writer!


End file.
